Got some family members who are very volatile and judgmental. And they are basically at war with each other like East Asia and Europa. The rest of the family (who are fucking cool and mellow people) are being drawn into this pointless and endless conflict. So we end up talking and obsessing about their bullshit constantly instead of celebrating the good things.

One acts like he's the only person in the world with feelings. He burns everyone in some way eventually then plays the victim when anyone tries to bring it up with him. Like you're being an insufferable tyrant for criticizing him. He's made victimhood a career and is racing everyone to the bottom.

The other one is basically making a power play to be the family matriarch now that our Grandmother passed. Gran was the quintessential good Christian woman. Generous, compassionate, humble, open, and radiated love and baked goods. Patron saint of shortbread and cuddles. Our new dictator uses Christianity as a PsyOps playbook. Guilt, fear and cruelty. Love is rationed and usually just takes the form of money or things. Not a month goes by where one of her siblings doesn't get a phone call blaming them for some minor crap that is spoiling her perfect vision of reality. She seriously called me up three days after my father died trying to get me to out someone for drug use she could victimize them. Yes, my father wasn't even in the ground yet but she wanted me to betray someone's trust for a personal crusade. Her son came out of the closet this year and she put him back in with the threat of being financially cut off. Fucked up. Never mind that he's one of the smartest people at his prestigious university, gay = broken. And broken makes her look bad.

We're basically letting a couple of sociopaths manipulate our family and I'm done with it.

From now on I'll be treading on eggshells in size 11 steel capped combat boots and I hope everyone else stops trying to appease these people but we're all so passive.